


it ends with you and me

by jamesniall



Series: everything you do is magic [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Peter Pan AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-23 10:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesniall/pseuds/jamesniall
Summary: “You know, when I told you to sleep on the sofa I meant our sofa.” Niall says, slowly, trying not to pick up a fight so early in the morning.“I didn’t know if I was welcome.” Harry mumbles from his cocoon, “You were mad, I was mad, this sofa seemed like the best choice.”“You’re taking some questionable choices lately, aren’t you?” Niall says, trying to go for a smile but knowing that if Harry slept here then it means he already accepted Hook’s offer.-Or, the one where Niall is still Tinkerbell, Harry is still Peter Pan, but everything comes crashing down when Captain Hook comes back to Neverland.





	it ends with you and me

**Author's Note:**

> hellooooo again!
> 
> this is, as you can see, now part of a series, bc i loved writing in this universe so much that i would keep writing another 80k words on it.....so yeah, this is like a second part to the first peter pan au, though you don't have to read the first one to understand this one, there are a couple of subtle references but it's not necessary to read that one....though if you'd read i'd really appreciate it :~)
> 
> in case u don't wanna read the first one, let me say a couple facts about this au that i created bc these fics are like a mix of the peter pan movie and the tinkerbell ones: in this universe, despite them living in neverland, they do age, bc it'd be weird to write narry in a proper relationship with them being kids, so they do age, just slower, let's say that in five normal years they age like just one, i imagined them being around 21-22 when i wrote it, so there's that.
> 
> also, niall's a fairy but similar to the ones in the tinkerbell movies? when they like work with water and animals and stuff?? yeah. so he talks to trees and flowers and animals and he's the cutest little thing ever. Also he's normal Niall-sized. But he can turn into a tiny fairy-sized fairy when he needs to, (like when he wants to have a cuddle in Harry's pocket or help Louis prank Liam.)
> 
> also, niall is blonde in this fic. just bc i can make him blonde in my fic.
> 
> sooo, to the cute little anon that left me this prompt in tumblr, this is for you! hope u like it and enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it, thank u for being so patient ❤
> 
> if you have any other prompt you'd like me to write, in this universe or not, im open to all suggestions.

“Are you seriously considering this right now?” Louis asks from where he’s reading over Harry’s shoulder. “I mean, doesn’t it feel a bit fishy? That he’s asking for forgiveness just a couple days before Christmas? He knows how busy we are, he can’t possibly expect we’ll add having some sort of reunion with him with everything else we have to do around the island.”

“He does say that it doesn’t have to be right on Christmas.” Harry says, passing the letter over to Niall so he can read it.

“Yeah but he does say _preferably on Christmas_ like, what the hell is that about?” Liam argues, sitting beside Louis on the back of the sofa.

“He seems to have good intentions this time, though, and if he’s really offering peace then who are we to say no?”

“We are the people he has attacked for centuries, Haz, I think we have all the right to refuse his ‘peace offering’,” Niall says as he skims over the letter, “if it’s even that. I’m struggling to believe it.”

“Niall! We’re all about believing and second chances and being kind and nice, we can’t just-“

“-What? Rip this paper off, throw it to the trash and then set it on fire? Sure we can.” Niall says with a shrug, “This is Hook we’re talking about. Anything about inviting him over, making him dinner, shake his hand and say everything is forgiven makes me feel queasy.”

“Look, I’m not saying we’re just gonna have him over like we’re old pals. I am aware of everything he’s done and he seems to be as well, seeing as he says, in the very letter he wrote and signed himself, that he’s willing to give back everything he has stolen in the past 10 years and then proceed to leave the island to never bother us again.”

“Yeah but why?” Louis asks again, letting himself fall down the sofa to sit properly beside Harry. “Think about it. He’s had countless of opportunities to do this before. Why now? Why is he really doing this?”

“I think you guys are overreacting.”

“Yeah, no. We’re really not.” Niall insists, “We’re talking about Hook. Captain Hook. The same Hook that came here one day and kidnapped a bunch of lost children, to make them clean the entirety of his ship. The same Hook that decided it was a great idea to ruin our Summer Party by setting on fire the forest I work in every damn day. This is the same Hook that has stolen not only pots of gold, not only bags full of fairy dust, he’s broken up families of tiny ducks and bunnies and turtles just because he was bored. He’s hurt the nature I take care of every day and let’s not even mention the time he decided to use evil magic and make every child have nightmares about fairies that made them scared and got me so sick I almost died at least three times.” Niall says, taking a deep breath after he finishes talking.

“We are not exaggerating, Haz, we may be good people, we help, we believe, we heal and we create life but forgiving Hook seems like it goes against all of that.”

The other three stay silent for a bit, letting the information sink in for Harry, who, after a couple more seconds frowns and looks ready to defend Hook once again.

Louis stops him with a loud and flat, “Yeah, what Niall said.”

And Liam continues with a “What Louis said.”

“Babe,” Niall starts standing up from his position on the floor, between Harry’s legs, “I know your intentions are good, and you think doing this is the right thing, but, c’mon you can’t just forgive _him,_ he’s done more harm than good. If he really feels remorseful for his actions and he wants to leave us alone for good then tell him to leave already. He doesn’t have to be here for it to be ‘official’ or whatever he claims. If the real feeling behind this is that he regrets ever harming us and leaving then say we accept that. He doesn’t have to give back whatever he stole.

“The thousand roses and flowers and gold and fairy dust he stole years ago? We have them, I grew them back, I helped the families of animals that got hurt, I am literally a fairy dust machine so we are not in need of any he may have. And gold? Yeah It’d probably be nice if he gave back the amount he stole but we have to remember that incident was like, six years ago, he must have spent a good amount already and we’re also doing okay financially so, really, does he need to come by and shake our hands and kneel and say _oh I am deeply sorry, my friend Harold and Fairy Niall, have the scraps of my shit of the last ten years and give me dinner,_ no. we don’t need that. We don’t need him here, I am fairly sure if we asked, the 99% of the creatures who live in this island would agree.

"We don’t need to do any kind of official ceremony. He’s not part of our community, he’s a criminal, we don’t need to give him our blessing and send him away, he can leave on his own account and never come back if that what he really wants.” Niall stats, squeezing Harry’s hand and trying to keep his voice even and gentle instead of frustrated. “Him coming here and ruining the peace we have had for so long? It screams bad idea, my fairy senses are tingling.”

“You don’t have fairy senses,” Louis snorts from beside him, “But you’re totally right.”

“I agree with Niall as well, Harry. He may seem genuine in that letter, but what is his business insisting he has to come and bid his goodbyes? We are not friends, we’re not even acquaintances. He hates us and all he’s ever done to this island is harm and destruction. We owe him nothing.”

Harry stays silent where he’s sat in the middle of his closest friends. He can admit they have a point, everything Niall mentioned made him remember the anger he’s always felt whenever he heard the name Hook, but- “Maybe I’m being a little naïve. Maybe I have more faith in people than I ever thought I did, but I still think I’d be right to have him here. He says he’s coming alone, he’s bringing a boat, not his ship, he _sold_ his ship. Maybe he changed. We haven’t encountered him in almost 2 years, that’s enough time for him to be better.”

“Yeah, do I need to remind you everyone thought the same of Cruella de Vil? Look how that ended.” Louis scoffs.

“Harry, you know I support you in anything, but when your decisions come with the cost of the safety of the creatures I love and take care of, I have to say no. If you really plan on bringing him here, give me a date and an hour so I can gather everyone in the safest place and hide away with them until he goes away.”

Harry tries his best to hide the surprise and – and the hurt – from his face, but he doesn’t think he succeeds. He can feel his whole body tensing and he clenches his hands in both frustration and anguish. He distantly realizes Niall still has both of his hands grasped tightly in his, and he pulls away and stands up, taking a couple steps backward so he can look at him properly.

“You wouldn’t be there? You’d really leave me alone in official Neverland business? You _have_ to be there Niall. If not as my boyfriend then as my right hand. You’re the second in command, you have to leave behind your pettiness and be there.”

He doesn’t mean to sound harsh, but with the way Niall flinches he knows he did anyway.

“Harry, I don’t think calling it _pettiness_ is the right term here.” Liam says when Niall has spent more than a minute with his eyes wide and mouth open in shock and doesn’t seem like he’s gonna reply any time soon.

“Yeah, mate, did you even listen to a word Niall said just a couple minutes ago? It’s not being petty. He has his reasons, we all do. Hook doesn’t deserve us welcoming him here with open arms.” Louis says, placing a comforting hand on Niall’s shoulder.

Niall, who still hasn’t said anything, smiles feebly at Louis and Liam and then stands up as well, taking about two steps closer to Harry, but leaving more than an arm length of distance between them still.

“You don’t need to make a decision now. He says he plans to leave on New Year’s Eve, you have time to think this through. And really think about it Haz. Think if the right thing to do is inviting him to the island that has suffered so much because of him and his actions. If you decide that it’d be, then I’d have to be there, as your right hand, for official Neverland business, but don’t think, not even for a second, that I support you in that. I gave you my reasons, I told you my opinion, but you’re the one that makes the call.” Niall says, voice quiet and subdued, Harry swears he can see how the light around Niall goes a bit down as he speaks. “I don’t want to fight with you about this. I’m your right hand, but I’m also your boyfriend and I love you to the moon and back but if you say yes to him, please, _please_ just sleep on the couch tonight.”

With that he squeezes Harry’s hand one last time and then he leaves. Liam and Louis following him close behind.

 

-

 

Niall tells Liam and Louis he wants to be alone for a while. He assures them he’ll be fine, there’s no need to worry, he just needs to clear his head, but he can still feel they are following him around as he walks around the island and further into the woods.

They finally leave when Niall spots a group of baby deer and starts helping them cross the river. Apparently sure that Niall is in good company now.

And he is. He never feels as content as he does when he’s walking, or flying, around the island, he loves helping out the animals than may need a little aid, loves talking to the bears and keeping them company as they hunt their meal of the day, they always give him the warmest hugs. Loves the way he can fly as slow and fun as a butterfly or as fast and steady as a hummingbird and he will never take for granted the moments of peace he gets while he’s taking care of the flowers and the trees.

Those are experiences he’d never change for anything, but maybe, if he’s honest with himself, the best part of his day is always when he gets to go back home to the little house Niall and Harry made for themselves, with the wooden walls and the roof made of leaves and branches full of the most colorful flowers, it’s always when he lies down in bed, tired and achy in all the good ways, with Harry beside him as they tell each other about their days.

Niall always talks about the latest gossip going on between the foxes and tells him about the little oak tree that finally started growing up. Harry talks about the adventures he had with the lost children that day or if he had a travel out of Neverland he always has a funny story to tell that never fails to leave Niall giggling until he’s so happy he’s covered both him and Harry in a thin layer of fairy dust that leaves them floating in the hair for a couple minutes.

Today, though, after he helps the baby deer, feds a couple birds and waters the flowers and the sun is almost completely down, he makes it home to find it empty.

The bed is made, the kitchen is empty and void from any smell that would indicate someone cooked anything for dinner, they don’t have lights, Niall hates artificial lightbulbs no matter how much Zayn insists they’re useful, in their stead he has a couple jars around the house, full with fairy dust so that they give enough of a glow to illuminate the house. Those never run out of light, unlike the ugly blobs of white light Zayn loves, so at least he can say the house doesn’t look dark.

Still, despite the warm glow coming from the jars, it feels eerie and hollow.

He goes to bed that night without eating, the bees he ran into on his way home game him some sugary goods that make his stomach feel full enough he can fall asleep pretending he had some dinner.

He stays away for hours after he lies down.

Harry never shows up.

 

-

 

The chirping of the birds it’s what always wakes him up.

That, along with the bright light coming from the sun, since they don’t have any sort of curtain covering their windows. This morning, however, it’s different.

Not only there’s the distinct lack of a warm body surrounding Niall. There are no sounds of birds greeting each other outside, in fact, the only thing Niall can hear is the soft patter of rain against the leaves of the house’s roof.

There’s no sun shining through the windows today.

After he does his usual morning business and eats some pieces of fruit for breakfast, he departs towards Liam and Louis’ house.

It’s slightly smaller than Niall and Harry’s, but still as homey and beautiful. He makes it inside, knowing he’s welcome anytime, and pauses on his way to the bedrooms to pick up the mess he finds around the living room that just screams _Louis_. He picks up some socks, a pair of pants and a cup of half eaten yogurt and just when he’s about to put everything down in the sofa he spots Harry, half asleep and covered with a thick blanket lying there.

“You know, when I told you to sleep on the sofa I meant our sofa.” Niall says, slowly, trying not to pick up a fight so early in the morning.

“I didn’t know if I was welcome.” Harry mumbles from his cocoon, “You were mad, I was mad, this sofa seemed like the best choice.”

“You’re taking some questionable choices lately, aren’t you?” Niall says, trying to go for a smile but knowing that if Harry slept here then it means he already accepted Hook’s offer.

“He said he’d arrive in about two days.” Harry stats. Straight to the point.

“He wrote you back already?”

“I wrote him as soon as you left the room yesterday, I got another letter back late in the afternoon.”

“As soon as I- Harry what the hell?” Niall snaps, not even attempting to keep his voice down. “I told you to think about it. Did you? Or just because you saw none of us supported that decision that you’d do it anyway? Just to spite us?”

“You know it’s not like that!” Harry snaps back, throwing the blanket off of him and sitting up, “I’d never make it personal, this is a decision that affects the entirety of the island, I’d never do it just to spite you.”

“But did you think about them? About the _entirety_ of the island? Did you think about how they’d feel? Knowing our biggest thread and enemy was coming back to have a friendly lunch with you? Have you thought about how you’ll tell them?”

“I already did.” Harry says, lowering his head to avoid Niall’s angry stare.

“When the f-“

“Earlier today. I send an owl with the news this morning. When a raccoon tried to attack me on my way back I decided it was safer to come back here and go back to sleep.”

“I can’t believe you.” Niall says, closing his eyes to prevent the tears from making an appearance. He shakes his head at Harry once he knows there won’t be tears and turns around to leave.

“You’re just going to leave, now?” Harry asks, standing up from the couch and moving to grab Niall, the blonde is faster and moves away from the wayward hand.

“I don’t see why I would stay,” Niall says, voice as sharp as steel, “I already told you why I consider this a bad idea, I told you to think about it, you didn’t, you already invited him and spread the news through all the island and I also already said I’d be there when he arrives so I don’t see what’s the point of me staying.” He continues, breathing harshly, still trying his best not to burst into angry and frustrated tears, “I said all that needed to be said, you already made a decision. See you when Hook comes and you regret ever bringing him back here.”

With that he turns and leaves, his feet are stomping harshly through the wet grass, puddles of water wetting his shoes and his ankles but he doesn’t care, he actually relishes in it, feeling close to the nature, even if it’s the sad and rainy expression of it, brings him the comfort he won’t find in Harry’s arms right now.

 

-

 

He walks aimlessly for what he thinks are two hours. His feet ache but not as much as his chest, which feels tight and hollow at the same time. He has hardly encountered any animal, he’s sure most of them went into hiding as soon as the news reached them. Niall doesn’t blame them.

He wishes he could hide along with them too.

 

When he’s too tired to get deeper into the woods, he sits against an old tree to rest and have some water. He’s deep in thought when a small voice startles him.

“Mr Fairy? Is it true the war will start again?”

Niall turns around to find a small duckling sitting beside him in the grass. Despite the question, he smiles. “Hey there. I didn’t see you, where did you come from?”

“My mama is taking my brothers for a swim in the lake. I saw you and came to you.”

“Well, did you tell her you were following me? If you didn’t, she must be worried.”

“She said it was okay.”

“Okay then, if you say so. How about we walk back to the lake while we talk a bit, yeah? Did you ask about a war starting?” The little duckling shakes his head in what Niall can tell it’s a nod as they start slowly walking.

“My mama said Mr Hook always brings a war with him and she got the news from Mr Owl that he’s coming to visit. Does that mean a war will start?”

Niall doesn’t quite know what to say.

“Well, you know Harry? He’s sure Captain Hook will only be here to settle down a matter between them, then he’s leaving and never coming back.”

“And you believe it, Mr Fairy?”

“You can call me Niall, love. And to be 100% honest with you, I have my doubts, but what I am completely sure about is that I will fight with tooth and nail to protect every single creature in the island, okay? You don’t have to worry about a war or anything like that.”

“Thank you Mr Niall.” The duckling says, “I believe in you.”

Niall feels warm all over at that, he knows, if he were to look at himself in a mirror he’d find himself looking not as gloom as yesterday, just because of those four little words.

“Thank you Mr Duckling,” Niall says with a smile, “I see your mama over there so you go, be good and I promise you I’ll keep you safe.”

The little duckling waddles over to the lake and dives in, chirping happily to his mama and Niall smiles the first real smile of the day.

He knows he wasn’t able to get some sense into Harry, but he also knows, now more than ever, that hiding in the middle of the woods won’t solve anything. He needs to be present when Hook arrives, just so he can oversee everything and be 100% sure he brings no harm.

 

-

 

Instead of walking, he decides to fly back home. What is the point of producing endless fairy dust if you don’t use it when your legs get tired? The feeling of the clean air against his skin and the few birds he finds along the way are a bonus.

He makes a pit stop when he reaches the sea, the sound of the waves are always calming enough and that’s what he needs before he sees Harry again.

But today seems to be full of surprises.

He sees the boat first.

A small and ratty old thing against the sand, just close enough to the shore that the waves don’t get to it. It appears to be empty, as far as Niall can see, and he decides that if he wants a closer look he’ll have to go fairy size.

It’s something he usually saves for trips out of Neverland, just so he can fit himself in Harry’s chest pocket and let the sound of Harry’s heartbeat lull him to sleep.

Right now, though, it’s an emergency. No boat should be so far away from the cave where Harry and the lost children reunite every day for lunch.

Once he’s tiny and in less risk of being noticed he flies as close as he can. Upon closer inspect, he realizes the boat is black and red and in a corner, almost unnoticeable, there’s the symbol of the skull and crossbones he’s come to fear so much.

It’s clearly Hook’s. Niall thinks it probably got here so easily since half of the island population is deep inside the forest, hiding. And for a moment Niall is glad they are. Though he can’t help but wish he had some aid, but he looks around to find himself completely alone.

He stays hidden behind a dark green leaf a couple minutes and once he’s sure there’s no one around he flies quickly and gets into the boat. He finds a bag and cans of food as well as a blanket, he assumes whoever is here plans to stay a few days, probably until Hook’s official arrival and start whatever evil plan he planned this time.

He tries to be quick as he looks around the bag, but his tiny size isn’t helping and soon enough he feels strong footsteps getting closer to the boat.

Flying away would be too obvious. What with the way he leaves a bit of fairy dust behind every time he flies. So he thinks of the next best thing and burrows himself into the bag, covering himself as best as he can and staying completely still.

He hears a grumble coming from outside and fights away a whimper from the back of his throat.

Being claustrophobic while being inside a black and smelly pirate bag isn’t what Niall considers a good time.

He tries to breathe deeply, slow and steady because if he loses himself to panic he’ll blow his cover and get into an even bigger mess. So he focuses on his breathing, imagining it’s Harry calming him down from the anxiety he has to deal with sometimes, and tries to will a little bit of fairy dust into his hands just enough so it’s not that dark but too much so he doesn’t alert whoever it is it’s outside.

After a couple minutes of deep breathing and looking nowhere but the light coming from his hands he hears a gravel-like voice outside.

Just one though, and whoever it belongs to seems to be having a conversation with…..himself?

“Yeah I checked all over.”

“No, the entire beach is empty, no nasty shit around, they all must be hiding.”

Niall’s completely sure now, that whoever Hook send it definitely isn’t Smee. Not with that voice and the way he talks about the creatures of the island.

“I used the poison already, the flowers were easy enough to find.”

_Poison. Used already? Now, that didn’t sound right at all._

“I’ll have it and the fairy ready for when you arrive, Captain.”

_Was he using – how is it that Zayn called them? – a Phone?_

_But wait a_ Fairy? _Were they talking about_ him?

“I haven’t seen him around but that blonde thing is like a firelight, if I search for it at night I bet it’ll be easy enough to capture.”

_Blonde thing, eh? Definitely talking about Niall._

“Sure thing, Captain. See you tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll be easy enough to get the ship in, there’s nothing flying around.”

 _Tomorrow??_ _Wasn’t he supposed to show up in two days?_

There was silence after that, and Niall, trying his best to keep his breathing both deep and quiet, didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he had to get out and alert Harry, Louis and Liam at least, get their defenses up and prevent Hook from entering the island tomorrow.

He stayed still for a couple minutes afterwards until the snores started. He risked a peek outside the bad to see the intruder napping just outside the boat, stretched out in the sand. He hadn’t seen this one before but he looked just the same as the other Hook’s goons.

Except maybe more muscular and angry-looking.

He really had to go.

He flies, because it was definitely faster than walking back, and as soon as he makes it to Louis and Liam’s house he gets through the open window and perches himself on the closest shoulder, which was Louis’, who’s cooking something in their small kitchen.

“Hook has one of his pirate buddies perched in the other side of the beach.” He hadn’t realized how out of breath he was until he spoke, and Louis startles so hard he lets go of the wooden spoon he had in his hand and splashes himself with the soup he was stirring.

“What in the actual fuck, Niall?!”

Niall flies past his flailing hands and sits instead on Louis’ nose.

“I’m sorry I caught you off guard but this is serious.”

“Why are you tiny? And what are you doing in my kitchen showing up like this?” He pauses to sneeze, “and get away from my nose, you know how much fairy dust tickles.”

Niall giggles, despite the situation, and sits himself on the floor so he can go back to being Niall-sized.

“In case you didn’t hear me before, Hook has one of his pirate buddies perched in the other side of the beach, he has plans, he mentioned something about poison and about capturing a _blonde thing that looks like a firelight_ , he apparently thinks I’m easy to catch in the night.” Niall scoffed, “What does he think that I sleep out in the open and that I’m as bright as a flashlight?-“

“Yeah, I’m gonna stop you there.” Louis says, wiping his face with his superman apron that Zayn had given him as a birthday present the year before. “What are you talking about, what do you mean Hook got into the island? How did you see him, also, where the fuck where you? We heard you yelling at Harry this morning, you disappeared, we were worried, Niall, with Hook so close you can’t just leave like that, he can be planning something.”

“Okay, now _I’m_ gonna stop you there, you ramble when you go all mother-hen on me. And I already told you, he _is_ planning something. With poison, and capturing me and he’s also arriving tomorrow.”

“How the fuck do you know this?”

And so Niall called Liam and Harry over and explained the entire situation for them.

“So, let me sum it up,” Liam starts, “more than half of the island is hiding because they are sure Hook’s visit will bring war, you found one of Hook’s goons hiding, or not quite hiding, in the other side of the beach, he said Hook’s coming tomorrow and not in two days and his plan revolves around poison and capturing the most important fairy of the island.”

Louis nods from where he’s sat beside him, sipping a cup of tea, “Yeah, pretty much,” he shrugs, “sounds exactly like the peaceful visit he insisted he was here for, doesn’t it, Haz?”

Harry’s sitting, completely silent, in the opposite couch from Niall’s. He didn’t greet him when he came in but now he’s looking at Niall with something close to concern and anger.

“Are you kidding?” Are the first words he says, then turns to address Niall, “Is this some sort of joke to get back at me for not listening to you?”

Niall couldn’t stop his whole body from going tense. Mouth hanging wide open as he looked back at Harry. “What did you just-”

“No, okay, I get it. You’re so sure you are right but you had no way to prove it to me so you make all of this up so I can, what? Write back to Hook and tell him the meeting’s cancelled? Because my boyfriend is bitter and petty?”

“I just told you that the very same pirate who has come to the island to hurt and steal and destroy, who already kidnapped me once, who has been our biggest enemy since I can remember is planning to capture me and probably poison you and your first reaction is to accuse me of lying?” Niall asks, voice shaky as he continues talking, “Tell me, Harry, who’s the one with the history of playing dirty and being a complete evil piece of shit? Me or Hook? Why are you so hell-bent on his good intentions that you’re doubting me?” This time he can’t help the traitorous tears that roll down his cheeks.

Harry, instead of giving him any sort of reply, just stands up and storms off the house.

And well, Niall guesses, that’s response enough.

He burst into tears after the door slams closed.

He’s always known his connection to nature was something incredible and powerful, and he’s proven right when, after the first sob he lets out, the roaring of thunder and the splash of hard rain is the only thing that can be heard in the room.

 

-

 

“He’s been acting weird since yesterday.” It’s the first thing Liam says after Niall settles down enough to drink a cup of tea without splashing it all over himself because of his shaky hands.

He’s still crying, pitiful sniffles and endless tears rolling down his pale cheeks. Outside, the rain comes pouring down steady and strong.

“Li’s right.” Louis nods, the hand that has been rubbing calming circles on Niall’s back since Harry left keeps on with its comforting notion. “He’s been silent, cranky and rude since yesterday morning. Since before he got that goddamn letter.”

“He has,” Liam continues, “After breakfast, he’s been like that since we had breakfast yesterday. He’s usually stubborn but it’s nothing compared to what he’s been like since then.”

“Do you think it’s the poison?” Niall asks, voice croaky and weak as he sips his tea to soothe his throat a little. “I don’t know. I didn’t see Harry much yesterday. Which is weird in and of itself. He usually visits me when I’m watering the flowers or at any point during the day and if he can’t he sends an owl to keep me company.” He sniffles before he’s able to continue, “When we had breakfast, remember he came back with a different bottle of tea than usual? He said a baby snake had gifted it to him but- but what if it was that pirate? What if somehow what they gave to Harry has him acting like this? Maybe that was the plan all along. So that they could get here easily and without a fight. They probably need me captured because I know I can smell toxic stuff. It’s the way I keep the animals protected.”

“But what Harry drank yesterday wasn’t in a cup, like usual, it was in a small bottle, which would have prevented you smelling it and stopping Harry from drinking it and therefore spoiling their plan.” Liam continues for him, eyes widening as he took in the information, “Maybe it was a small enough portion to go unnoticed.”

“And small enough not to kill him, but definitely changing something in his brain. His thought processing has definitely been faulty since then.”

“Exactly!” Liam says, sounding both scared and the news and relieved they got to some sort of explanation for Harry’s shitty behavior.

“So what do we do? If we tell Harry this he’ll probably go all freaky on us again.”

“He won’t believe us,” Liam says, “Who knows, maybe he got it programmed into him that he should tell them if we caught on.”

The severity of Liam’s words was enough to still both Niall and Louis.

“We have to find him.” Niall says. He puts his tea down in the counter and dries his cheeks. A determined glow making itself home all around him. “I remember where I found that boat. We’ll get there faster if we fly rather than walk so get over here and let me cover you both with fairy dust so we can leave.”

And so they did.

It was dark, but as Niall’s tears had stopped, so had the rain, which made it easier to navigate around. They made it there in about ten minutes and as they got closer they could see that now there wasn’t only a small, ratty boat.

The very same Jolly Roger, ugly, old and clearly having seen better times, floated in the shore. The distinct chatter made it obvious that Hook hadn’t come alone as he had promised in his stupid letter.

When Niall made it home, with Harry, safe and sound and back to himself, he was gonna grab that letter and do something worse than setting it on fire.

“Look, Harry’s there.” Louis whispers, pointing to where Harry was sat on a rock, Hook had an arm around him, the arm that no longer had a hand, in the other there was a small, red bottle, and despite the distance Niall could smell the toxicity inside it.

This one was definitely enough for Niall’s senses to go to alert, meaning it was enough to kill Harry if one tiny drop made it into his mouth.

Harry’s eyes are open but empty. Instead of green they looked almost grey and he wasn’t blinking. He’s almost catatonic sitting there with Hook at his back, the pirate is talking, and Harry’s nodding to whatever the asshole is saying to him.

He proceeds to hand him a paper and a pen. Harry grabs it and starts to sign it, when an apple comes down from the tree they were hiding on and rips the paper from Harry’s hands.

Louis whispers a small _yay_ that makes Liam smile.

The paper falls down, and the wind, or maybe it was Niall’s huge sigh of relief, pushes it enough so it falls and disappears under the water.

“We have intruders!” Hook hollers out and four pirates make their way down the ship, one of them were the muscular scary one that Niall had first found.

Niall expected there to be more. But either Hook was confident enough he only bought this four or the rumors were true and Hook’s band of misfits were really abandoning him and looking for a better life.

“I got Hook and Harry,” Niall whispers to his two best friends, “you focus on incapacitating the four goons. It’ll be easy enough.”

“You sure you got the captain and your boy?” Louis asks, concern taking over his face, “the four pirates seem easy enough to get down, we’ve been training, but you-“

“I got this. First thing is getting some fairy dust into Harry’s senses. Then I make Hook take that entire bottle of poison himself.”

“You sure that’s what you wanna do?”

“If there’s no other choice.”

Before the other two could argue him, Niall flies straight to Harry and Hook and punches the pirate in the face.

Hook recovers quickly though, and before Niall can move away he grabs Niall by his waist and throws him hard against a tree. He can hear a faint “Niall!” coming from Liam but he shakes his head and flies straight towards his boyfriend again.

Hook gets there first, though. He grabs Harry’s hair, pulls enough to have his head tilted back and pushes the bottle of poison close to Harry’s lips.

“You nasty little fairy! Get away from here before you die trying to stop the inevitable.”

“Why are you here, Hook? What’s the real reason?” Niall hisses at him, trying to distract him as he sends a bit of fairy dust Harry’s way.

“I’ve been after this island and its treasures for years! You broke the contract that’d rightfully give it to me but that doesn’t matter, if Harry dies Neverland will be mine and nothing will be able to stop me!”

Niall’s reaction is instantaneous.

He flies, as fast as fairy dust can carry him and puts himself in the middle of Harry and the bottle. Hook doesn’t get enough time to react or move him away, instead, he ends up pushing the bottle into Niall’s mouth and emptying it in a matter of seconds.

Niall tries not to swallow. He really does. But he goes dizzy so fast he doesn’t even notice when the thing goes past his mouth and down to his stomach.

He doesn’t have any time to think about what that means for him. He needs to get through the fog that Harry seems to be in so he can help Louis and Liam and maybe avenge Niall’s death. Because there’s no way he’s surviving this one.

“Haz,” Niall starts, letting the last of his fairy dust flow through his body and transfer to Harry’s, “Harry, love, if you can hear me, follow my voice.” His throat hurts and his stomach is cramping but he doesn’t dare stop, “Haz I need you. I need you to come back to me, please,” He cries out as the cramping intensifies and he falls to his knees. “I need you. Lou and Li need you. I know you can fight whatever it is that Hook gave you, please, Haz, fight it and come back to me.”

He feels himself run out of fairy dust two seconds after he finishes talking, whether it is because of the poison or because he was giving it all to Harry to help him fight whatever shit Hook had him on, he knew was seconds away from passing out.

Just when he’s about to let go, a strong pair of familiar, strong arms catch him.

“Ni? Niall, what- what’s going on, what am I doing here?” Harry asks, frantically trying to orient himself while also holding onto Niall’s frail body. He can see from where his hands lie on Harry’s shoulders that his glow is flickering. Going on and off. The off moments lasting more than the on ones.

“Niall, baby, answer me please, don’t let go. What did you do? How can I help you? Please, don’t close your eyes.”

Niall tries, he really really tries, but he only spares one more second reassuring himself that he saved Harry, and Harry will help Liam and Louis, who are fighting Hook now, four pirates lying down still and bloody all over the sand, and the three of them are going to save and protect Neverland. Niall did the right thing, he protected his family and the creatures he swore to keep safe and even if he has to pay with his life, he’s glad he did.

He takes one last look at Harry before he lets his eyes fall closed and sinks into a dark deep sleep.

 

-

 

“Harry, how is he?” Louis pants as he kneels beside Harry, who’s still cradling Niall’s body and calling him to wake up. To stay awake and not let go.

Despite his best efforts, though, Niall’s eyes are closed, his skin completely pale and his glow fully gone. He’s cold to the touch and if it wasn’t for the unsteady movement in his chest Harry would assume he was gone.

“He- I don’t know, he just collapsed. Lou, you have to help him.” Harry sobs, holding Niall’s body closer to him, “Please, I’m so sorry, Niall, baby, wake up.”

“Do you remember what happened?” Liam asks, coming from the other side and holding Niall’s wrist to feel for his pulse.

“It’s coming in bits and pieces.” Harry stutters out. “He drank all that poison, Liam.” He cries, “It’s all my fault.”

“Hey, hey no, don’t say that.” Louis soothes him, “you didn’t know what was going on, Hook was using you to get his way. And Niall’s going to be okay, I’m sure he is, he’s strong. He can do this, I believe in him.”

It’s after Louis says those four words that one of Niall’s fingers spasm weakly in Harry’s grasp.

“He moved.” Harry gasps, “Lou, keep saying it. Say it again, again, he moved when you said you believe in him.”

“I do believe in you, Nialler.” Liam says, and this time Niall’s foot gives a jerky move.

“I believe in you, love.” Harry cries from where he has his face pressed to Niall’s hair. “I do, I do. I believe in you. I believe in fairies, I do, I do.”

At that, Niall’s whole body shines for a couple seconds before it gives out again.

The three of them keep saying it, over and over, first is mumbled through their tears, then they start screaming it. So loud there are a couple birds and butterflies that come to see what’s all the screaming about.

Harry’s sobbing into Niall’s neck a mantra of _I believe, I do, I do._ He’s sure it’s not gonna be enough, because even if he still has a steady pulse and he keeps making jerky movements every now and then, his glow keeps flickering down. He’s about to let go when a small little duckling comes out of seemingly nowhere and sits down carefully on top of Niall’s chest.

It _quacks_ softly, and Harry doesn’t understand at first but then Niall’s glow remains for a couple more seconds than before and he knows, he _knows_ the small animal is repeating the words as well.

Followed by the duckling comes a bee, that comes buzzing close to Niall’s ear as his glow keeps flickering. Then comes a small baby bear, then comes a fox that scares Harry at first but after it howls loudly Niall’s hands start feeling warmer.

He doesn’t know how long it’s been, he’s just aware of how hoarse his and Liam and Louis’ voices are and that about 80% of the island is surrounding them, Harry’s cries are drown by barks and birds chirping and _quacks_ and all sorts of animal noises, but after a while Niall’s glow stays. Not as bright as usual but it stops going out. His cheeks stay pale but not completely gray. His whole body warms up and when he’s sure he can feel ants all over his body Niall opens his eyes.

They are blue, so so _so_ breathtakingly blue that Harry can’t help but bend over again and pressing kiss after kiss, _I’m sorry_ after _I’m sorry, I love you_ after _I love you_ until he feels Niall giggling softly. His fingers playing gently with his hair.

“I love you too.” Niall whispers hoarsely. There are tears in his eyes too and he looks tired and like he needs to sleep for at least 3 weeks but he’s alive. _Alive_ in Harry’s arms and surrounded by his best friends and his weird but lovely family of animals that cry out in relief when Niall turns to look at them.

“I love you guys as well.” Niall says to the hundreds of animals around him. “Thank you for believing.”

They start to disperse little by little. Some of them leaving silently, some others get close to Niall to nuzzle into his hands or neck or to give him a soft lick in his cheeks before they leave, and soon enough there’s only Harry, Liam and Louis again.

“You gave us a scare there.” Louis says, “Don’t you ever fucking do that again.”

“We love you, Ni.” Liam says. “We’d be nothing without you.”

Harry seems to have run out of words at some point, so he just bents down and kisses Niall, soft but needy and passionate and everything he needs to reassure himself Niall’s there, safe and alive and he’s never letting him go again.

 

-

 

It takes Niall about a week to get fully better.

He sleeps for hours and takes long naps in the middle of the day and eats just soup, crackers and fruit smoothies because his stomach is still upset. But after a week he’s back on his feet, hell-bent on taking a walk around the island to check on everyone.

Harry assures him Louis and Liam are making sure the animals are settled back in their habitats and nests and caves and everyone is safe, just worried about him.

“I’m fine, you know, I can totally go check on the deer, they could need help crossing the river again.”

“You’re not getting out of this house until you go a full day without cramps.” Harry says. Because the cramps had gotten extremely bad about 2 days after the fight. It was only Niall’s body getting rid of the last of the poison, but the nausea and the puking and the cramps kept him in bed for the rest of that week.

Louis and Liam were busy not only keeping an eye on all the animals, assuring them that Niall’s recuperating as he should, but also making sure their prisoners are behaving in the small prison Louis and Liam built to keep them in check while they figure out how to get them out of Neverland and to an island far far away.

“I’ve been feeling better today. No dizzy spells, no nausea,” Niall pouts, “I just don’t have an appetite but I can totally get out of the house now.”

“Humor me. Stay here another day. Lou and Li are sure they’ll get rid of the pirates by tomorrow afternoon, by then, when they are far from here and far from you, I’ll feel safe enough to let you out of my sight.”

“Fiiiiine,” Niall whines, cuddling up to Harry when he sits beside him on the bed. “I love you.”

“Love you more.” Harry says back, “I’m sorry all of this was my fault.”

“It wasn’t, Haz.” Niall says, determined to make Harry listen this time because he’s been blaming himself the entire week and Niall can’t take it anymore. “You were a victim of this just as much as the rest of us, you weren’t helping him willingly, he used you as a mean to his end and it was wrong and all of it lays on Hook’s shoulders, not yours. You did nothing wrong.”

Harry’s eyes get teary before he can help it, he hugs Niall tightly to his chest and keeps him there until he can get his emotions back in control.

“I love you,” Harry says again, “and I’m so glad you’re okay, we’d really be nothing without you here.”

“Please,” Niall snorts, “you only want me for the fairy dust.”

“Oh of course we do, we just fake out all the love we give you every day,” Harry smirks, carefully tickling Niall’s tummy.

“Don’t you dare tickle me,” Niall warns, “you know what happened last time.”

“You enjoyed what happened last time.” Harry says, tickling him harder when he sees Niall’s stomach doesn’t get upset with the movements.

“It took like three hours to get all the fairy dust to settle down enough to sweep it out of the house.” Niall deadpans, “you made me laugh so much the entire house was covered in fairy dust for days.” He continues, shaking his head and stifling a laugh, “never again.”

Harry, in typical Harry fashion, doesn’t listen at all and starts tickling him all over again.

And, well, if the bed ends up trashed, the pillows all over the floor and clouds of fairy dust covering every piece of furniture, stuck to the walls and the floor, Harry can’t say he doesn’t enjoy seeing Niall’s face shining so bright, smile wide and eyes crinkly from laughing so much.

It’s a sight he wouldn’t change for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> and that's it :~)
> 
> thank you soooooooooo much for reading, and if u leave kudos/bookmark/comment i'll love u to the moon and back :')
> 
> im jamesniall on tumblr dot com if you'd like to send me any prompt, see u next time!


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